Wednesday, November 20, 2013

New FEC Commissioner Apologizes for Groundless Accusations

FEC Commissioner Ann Ravel’s erroneous
statements in her previous position raise questions about her partiality,
competence.

Nothing seemingly makes leftist
ideologues more apoplectic than the specter of secretive billionaires
supposedly tainting the democratic process with “dark money.” And in the
liberal consciousness, the Koch
brothers—with their unwavering
dedication to political and economic freedom—stand out in the pantheon of
political boogeymen.

So ingrained is this bias toward the Koch brothers that liberals routinely
substitute innuendo and hearsay for facts when allegations arise involving them
or their affiliations.

Such was the case with recently
confirmed FEC Commissioner Ann Ravel in her last act as head of
California’s Fair Political Practices Commission. In multiple settings, Ms.
Ravel baselessly accused the “Koch Brothers network” of violating California
campaign finance law, only to later recant to a Los Angeles TV station.

The case centers on the transfer of money from a Virginia and two Arizona
nonprofits to a couple of California entities conducting independent
expenditures for ballot measures last year.

Only one problem existed with Ms. Ravel’s claims: they weren’t true. In fact,
Kochs had put out multiple statements to the press
and on their own website
denying they, or any of their corporate or political affiliations, had been
involved in the undisclosed transfers. And they actually opposed one of the
ballot measures, which would have restricted the rights of employees to
contribute to candidates.

But this inconvenient fact did not stop Ms. Ravel from repeatedly accusing the
“Koch Network” of wrongdoing. Her statements in turn predictably catalyzed a mediafrenzy,
fueling
the well-worn narrative
of Koch “dark money” corroding our democracy.

Ms. Ravel finally came clean in a Saturday
interview with a California television station after being safely confirmed
as an FEC commissioner. “It was not the Koch brothers . . . The Koch brothers
have never been implicated themselves as having been direct donors.” Of course,
neither have any of their corporate or political affiliations, which she
conveniently omitted.

Ms. Ravel’s erroneous accusations raise questions about her competency and
her ability to decide complex federal campaign finance issues impartially. The
FEC will continue to operate at a suboptimal
level if Ms. Ravel brings to it preconceived prejudices instead of an objective
desire for truth.